Pin connector



INVENTOR.

United States Patent 3,262,087 PIN CONNECTOR Lloyd Mancini, Hershey,Pa., assignor to Berg Electronics, Inc., New Cumberland, Pa., acorporation of Pennsylvania Filed Apr. 27, 1964, Ser. No. 362,575 2Claims. (Cl. 339-256) This invention relates to electrical connectors,particularly those of very small size for pin type terminals.Conventional connectors may be and have been made in small sizes, but asthe size is reduced the connector becomes less satisfactory. The presentinvention provides a construction which is especially suitable forminiature connectors in that it combines desirable performance andquality characteristics with low cost.

A principal object of the invention is to provide a new and improvedconnector for pin type terminals which can be made out of very thinmetal stock and in miniature size.

Other and further objects of the invention will be apparent from thefollowing description and claims and may be understood by reference tothe accompanying drawings which by way of illustration show a preferredembodiment of the invention and what I now consider to be the best modeof applying the principles thereof. Other embodiments of the inventionmay be used without departing from the scope of the present invention asset forth in the appended claims.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a plan View of a strip of terminals illustrating the severalsteps in the making of the same;

FIGURE 2 is a plan view of a single connector before it is crimped onthe electrical conductor;

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged side elevational view of a single connector;

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged sectional view taken along the line 44 of FIGURE3;

FIGURE 5 is an enlarged sectional view taken along the line 5-5 ofFIGURE 3;

FIGURE 6 is an enlarged sectional view taken along the line 66 of FIGURE2;

FIGURE 7 is a side elevational view of the connector assembled to a pintype terminal;

FIGURE 8 is a sectional view taken along the line 88 of FIGURE 7; and

FIGURE 9 is an enlarged sectional view taken along the line 99 of FIGURE2.

As illustrated in FIGURES 2 and 3, an electrical connector embodying theinvention is formed from an integral piece of thin sheet metal toprovide a ferrule 20 for crimping onto an electrical conductor and anelongated socket 22 for telescopically receiving and yieldably holding apin type terminal having fiat sides, such as a square pin 24. The socket22 comprises aligned spaced sleeve portions 26 and 28 interconnected byoppositely disposed longitudinally extending spring portions 30. Asillustrated in FIGURES 4 and 8, the sleeve portions 26 and 28 have aninner cross section matching that of the pin terminal 24 and theinterior corners of the sleeve portions are relieved as at 32 so as toeliminate any interference between the interior corners of the sleeveportions 26 and 28 and the sharp corners of the pin 24.

The spring portions 30 are inwardly bowed intermediate their ends so asto provide single curvature contact surfaces presented toward the axisof the socket and more closely spaced than the corresponding innersurfaces of the sleeve portions for engagement with the flat sides ofthe pin terminal. The spring portions 30 are substantially more flexiblethan the sleeve portions 26 and 28, and the contact surface areas 34 ofthe spring por- 3,262,087 Patented July 19, I966 ice tions 30 arecoined. The coining reduces the thickness of the metal at the contactsurface areas, improves the spring characteristics thereof, and providesa desirable contact surface for engagement with the fiat side of the pin24. The coining widens the spring portions 30 at the middle asillustrated in FIGURE 3 and, as illustrated in FIGURE 9, results inridges 40 which provide guides along the side edges of the springportions for guiding the pin terminal during insertion.

The interior cross section of the sleeve portions 26 and 28 is madeslightly larger than the cross section of the pin 24 so that there is nointerference between the pin and the sleeve portions 26 and 28, althoughthere is a close fit. The spacing between the bowed center portions 34of the spring portions 30 is less than the minimum cross section of thepin 24 so as to provide a frictional fit between the contact areas 34and the sides of the pin 24. Since the spring portions 30 are relativelyflexible, they will provide area contact with the sides of the pin 24even though the spring portions are bowed.

The wire crimping ferrule 20 may be made of any conventionalconstruction and is adapted to be crimped around the bared end of a wireso as to integrate the connector with an electrical conductor. Theflexibility of the spring portions 30 assures that the contact surfaceareas 34 will seat on the flat sides of the pin 24. The insertion of thepin into the socket of the connector of course will tend to open up orspread the contact surface areas 34. However, due to the type ofconstruction used, this will tend to elongate the socket rather thantend to unwrap or open up the sleeve portions 26 and 28.

The connectors may be made in strip form from metal strip stock, such asA hard Phosphor bronze, or any other material suitable for makingelectrical connectors, and the stock may be plated with a suitableplating, such as tin or gold. In making the connectors of strip stock,the strip is subjected to a series of blanking and forming operations soas to provide a ferrule portion 20, a connector portion 22, and alocating portion 50. The ferrule portion 20 is bent into U-form as isconvention, for crimping around the hated end of the wire, and theconnector portion 22 is folded or bent as to provide the sleeve portions26 and 28 having interior cross sections which are substantially square.However, before the connector portion 22 is folded to form the finishedconnector, the portions which form the spring portions 30 are coined toprovide the contact areas 34 and ridges 40 previously referred to. Byway of example, I have found that this type of constuction lends itselfto being made in a size for use with a pin terminal having a crosssection of .025 inch, and in such case the interior cross section of thesleeve portions 26 and 28 preferably is .027 inch. The strip stock usedfor making such connector was .010 A hard Phosphor bronze with a goldover nickel plating.

While I have illustrated and described a preferred embodiment of myinvention, it is understood that this is capable of modification and Itherefore do not wish to be limited to the precise details set forth butdesire to avail mystelf of such changes and alterations as fall Withinthe purview of the following claims.

I claim:

1. An electrical connector formed from an integral piece of thin sheetmetal to provide a ferrule for crimping onto an electrical conductor andan elongated socket for telescopically receiving and yieldably holdingan essentially square pin terminal, said socket comprising alignedspaced square sleeve portions solely interconnected by oppositelydisposed and longitudinally extending spring portions extending betweencorresponding aligned sides of said sleeve portions, said sleeveportions having an inner cross section matching that of the pinterminal, said spring portions being inwardly bowed toward each otherintermediate their ends so as to provide single curvature contactsurfaces presented toward the axis of the socket and more closely spacedthan the corresponding inner surfaces of said sleeve portions forengagement with the flat sides of the pin terminal, said contactsurfaces having a width greater than that of said pin, said springportions being more flexible than said sleeve portions whereby insertionof the pin in the socket flexes said spring portions apart so as to movesaid sleeve portions apart longitudinally.

2. A connector according to claim 1 wherein the contact surface areas ofsaid spring portions are coined, are

more flexible than the ends of said spring portions, and 15 are providedwith inwardly extending guide ridges along 4 the side edges of saidspring portions for guiding the pin terminal during insertion betweensaid spring portions.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATEQ PATENTS PATRICK A.CLIFFORD, Primary Examiner.

P. TEITELBAUM, Assistant Examiner.

1. AN ELCTRICAL CONNECTOR FORMED FROM AN INTEGRAL PIECE OF THIN SHEETMETAL TO PROVIDE A FERRULE FOR CRIMPING ONTO AN ELECTRICAL CONDUCTOR ANDA ELONGATED SOCKET FOR TELESCOPICALLY RECEIVING AND YIELDABLY HOLDING ANESSENTIALLY SQUARE PIN TERMINAL SAID SOCKET COMPRISING ALIGNED SPACEDSQUARE SLEEVE PORTIONS SOLELY INTERCONNECTED BY OPPOSITELY DISPOSED ANDLONGITUDINALLY EXTENDING SPRING PORTIONS EXTENDING BETWEEN CORRESPONDINGALIGNED SIDES OF SAID SLEEVE PORTIONS, SAID SLEEVE PORTIONS HAVING ANINNER CROSS SECTION MATCHING THAT OF THE PIN TERMINAL, SAID SPRINGPORTIONS BEING INWARDLY BOWED TOWARD EACH OTHER INTERMEDIATE THEIR ENDSSO AS TO PROVIDE SINGLE CURVATURE CONTACT SURFACES PRESENTED TOWARD THEAXIS OF THE SOCKET AND MORE CLOSELY SPACED THAN THE CORRESPONDING INNERSURFACES OF SAID SLEEVE PORTIONS FOR ENGAGEMENT WITH THE FLAT SIDES OFTHE PIN TERMINAL, SAID CONTACT SURFACES HAVING A WIDTH GREATER THAN THATOF SAID PIN, SAID SPRING PORTIONS BEING MORE FLEXIBLE THAN SAID SLEEVEPORTIONS WHEREBY INSERTION OF THE PIN IN THE SOCKET FLEXES SAID SPRINGPORTIONS APART SO AS TO MOVE SAID SLEEVE PORTIONS APART LONGITUDINALLY.